Proverbs 21:23, "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles." The greatest problem some folks have is taming the tongue. I read once about a church in Red Cloud, Nebraska, which listed the sermon topic as "Gossip." Right after that on the program was the song, "I Love To Tell The Story." There are a lot of people who love to tell some story, whether it is true or even if it us untrue. Some folks just do not know how to control their tongue. A sign of your spirituality is your ability to use the tongue in the right way. A loose tongue indicates a low plane of spiritual living. What kind of tongues does the Bible speak about.

I. A Flattering Tongue. See Prov.23:28. There is nothing wrong with paying a person a genuine compliment, and we should do so. On the other hand, flattery is a false praise. It is given for the purpose of gaining favor or influence to accomplish some purpose. Flattery is a tool to use someone for your own purposes or aims.

II. A Fault-Finding Tongue. Compare Job 32:10-18. Job’s so called friends constantly found fault with him. Job had lost part of his family, his possessions, and even his health. Instead of tearing him down, he needed friends who would seek to lift him up and encourage him. Instead, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite proved to be a thorn in Job’s flesh. If a person had friends like Job had who would need any enemies.

III. A Forward Tongue. See Prov.10:31. "Forward" has the idea of not yielding or complying. It has the idea of something that is crooked and has no desire to straighten out. Our tongues ought to be straight in what we say concerning things we hear and people we are around.

IV. A Factional Tongue. See Prov. 6:19. There are those who with their tongues bring about dissension, cliques and groups within a larger group. Factional tongues should not be encouraged by others----rather, they should be discouraged and rebuked.